The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit

Many accidents involving trucks cause severe and lifelong injuries. These can lead to significant medical costs, lost wages and psychological trauma.

Your lawyer will prepare an Summons and Complaint against all liable parties. The process could last for several years. Because New York uses comparative fault rules, your lawyer will ensure that any shared responsibility is correctly defined and allocated to defendants.

Investigations

A truck accident can be more serious than an auto accident. The consequences of a truck accident can be life-changing and the impact is far more complicated due to the size and weight of commercial trucks. These incidents also require more complicated investigation.

Due to this, insurance companies and trucking companies typically conduct their own investigations right after an accident to protect their interests. The victims are left to deal with their injuries, and they are unable to collect evidence. This puts them at a disadvantage in comparison to the trucking company or insurance provider.

A lawyer for truck accidents who has experience will look for evidence in a variety sources, including police reports, witness testimony, and inspections of vehicles. A knowledgeable lawyer will not rely solely on police reports, however, since these reports are typically not adequate for civil litigation. Police officers aren't always trained to conduct an inquiry properly and may not gather all the evidence required to support the court case.

Other kinds of data include logbook records, maintenance and service records for the truck, data from the event data recorder (also called a black box), and more. A competent attorney will demand these and other forms of evidence from the truck driver and trucking company and carefully examine them to determine what caused the accident.

Expert Witnesses

A truck accident expert witness can aid your lawyer in proving different aspects of the case. For instance an expert in medicine will provide your lawyer with evidence that the crash caused your injuries. Your expert can also testify on how your injuries affect your life in the future. Expert witnesses can help your lawyer determine the extent of your injuries including lost income and your future earning capacity.

Experts can examine the physical evidence and explain how your injury will affect your future. https://vimeo.com/707166702 in medicine, for example, can explain how your accident may impact your physical and mental health. A metallurgist is another type of expert who can determine the reasons behind why a vehicle component failed. There are also experts who assess the ways in which weather might be a factor in the crash.

Your expert's responsibility is to provide an impartial and objective view after analyzing the evidence. However, some expert witnesses can become a liability risk for your case if they are biased or have ties to the defendants' businesses. Your lawyer can conduct a background check to identify the risks and ensure that you have the most qualified expert witnesses available.

Your attorney will conduct an interview with you, along with any other eyewitnesses who saw the incident prior to it happening. Be aware that the insurance companies of the defendants will attempt to get your to admit guilt or make statements which they can twist and change to weaken your case.

Litigation

Truck drivers must also adhere to traffic laws and operate with reasonable care. If they fail to fulfill this duty and their negligence results in a crash, they may be held liable for the damages caused by the accident to the victims of the crash.

To show the defendant's negligence our attorney will gather a variety of evidence from eyewitnesses who witnessed the crash and give written or oral testimony about how the crash occurred. Our team will also study an array of other evidences, including skid marks and areas of collision, and conduct crash tests.

Sometimes the cause of a truck accident is complicated that involves multiple parties. If the truck accident was caused by defective equipment or improper maintenance, we could sue the manufacturers or the trucks. We might also claim against the mechanic who did the repairs or the repair shop.

We will try to resolve your dispute outside of court. If, however, the trucking firm or its insurer refuses an equitable settlement or offer, we'll prepare to go to trial. During the trial, a jury or judge will decide on issues that are disputed such as who is at fault and how much compensation you should receive. The total of your legal damages will be determined based on your documented losses that include physical, financial and emotional suffering.

Statute of limitations

Understanding how these cases normally take place can help you prepare for the future and give you an idea of how long it could take to settle your case.

Finding out who is responsible is one of the most crucial steps. If a truck driver was drowsy or distracted, for example then it is likely that they'll be held accountable for your damages. There may be other parties as well. If the crash was the result of poor repairs or a mechanic, then a company that made the truck or its components could be held responsible under the legal theory respondeat superior.

It's also possible that the responsible party has was guilty of a more serious risky act, which might entitle you to punitive damages. To be able to prove this, we must to establish that the liable party acted with reckless disregard of your safety or that of others.

It is vital to hire an attorney who is experienced with the complexities involved in truck accident cases. Insurance companies and lawyers for the at-fault parties are often sheepskin wolves and will attempt to convince you to sign statements that they later use against you. By having an attorney manage all communications, it is possible to avoid these pitfalls.